Horizon Ridge now that i've had my fill of you, i'll give you up forever

each day they made small bits of progress. the cold was their main deterrent -- it was surprising how when one's age went up, their tolerance for extremes went down. while raleska and svalinn seemed ready to ford ahead every hour of the day, caiaphas sometimes lingered with an let's rest here, or a this is a good place to stop.

they accepted her instructions with little arguing. in truth, these frequent rests were just as much for caiaphas to rest her tired bones as they were for her to teach her children where to look for unused dens, or hunt in seemingly abandoned alcoves. they were learning -- and someday, she would not be around to protect or teach them -- so they must learn how to survive of their own accord, or they would pay the ultimate cost.

she had left the two of them to hunt down a trail of otters, and had made inland. she recognized the topography of this place - as they moved further north, caiaphas was struck more and more by how much she remembered of the coast. years ago, there had been a cache here -- caiaphas' limbs seemed to move of their own accord as she searched, wondering if somehow the rotted cairn had survived the insult of the years.